


Devilish Tendencies.

by edgelord99



Category: The Walking Dead (Comics), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Cussing, Daddy Kink, Domestic Violence, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Love/Hate, M/M, Multi, OC takes 0 shit, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Revenge, Slow Burn, Strong Female Characters, Vaginal Sex, a lot of cussing, the saviors - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-08-29 15:42:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8495932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edgelord99/pseuds/edgelord99
Summary: Sometimes when you look into someones eyes, you see something in them, fire, pure fire, you see that they think they're better than you, that they're above you, on top of the damn foodchain and nobody could knock them off it. Those pretty eyes held danger in them, the eyes of a devil with a charming smile.That's what Marlene saw when she first laid eyes on Negan, and it was breathtaking. It was like looking in a mirror.Marlene is the leader of a group, she was forced to strike a deal with the Saviors to protect her people;; but what she doesn't anticipate is the sudden alliance when both groups have a major loss.





	1. The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Wooah ! First fanfic. I might be biting off more than I can chew with this, but I hope this turns out okay. This part of the prologue focuses on pre-apocalypse Marlene Santiago. The second will focus on some good 'ol zombie killin.

Marlene Santiago, a woman in her mid twenties, she had tanned olive skin and black hair, with dark eyes to match, you could say that she was a beautiful woman, a beautiful woman that grew up a good life in the suburbs, later going to college to major in business, her dreams of becoming a successful businesswoman felt like they were coming true, like they were just in her reach, she could feel her fingertips brushing against her dreams, the success, the good life, beautiful partner and even children, maybe.  
  
_But we can't always get what we want, can we?_ Life is unfair, it gives you pain, rips what you want straight from your hands and throws it on the floor with the most malicious intent, leaving you to only watch in helpless and hopeless agony as life used its ugly worn boots to stomp away everything that you had worked toward. It didn't matter if you had taken 100 steps forward, sometimes you're forced to take 200 back.  
  
Marlene didn't know what was about to happen to her, the domino event that was going to be caused when she met Harrison Cook. He was an absolutely gorgeous man, he had a strong jawline, it could cut glass. A huge smile, soft brown hair that perfectly framed that perfect face of his. Marlene was in her second year of college, and he was soon to be finishing college, he majored in drama, he wanted to be an actor. She met him at a party, one that an old friend of hers and brother of said friend -- Iris, and Joseph. -- were throwing, it was like a fairytale meeting, almost. He was perfect, _almost_. Harrison and Marlene dated for a few months, then she found out she was pregnant.  
Of course, Marlene always insisted on using protection, but the first night she agreed to go without, was presumably when it happened. Her dreams were set back, she couldn't balance a pregnancy and college, she could barely manage it at all, in the first place. Marlene refused to get an abortion. So, here she is. Her dreams were set aside, she dropped out of college and decided to become a housewife. It took a while for her to even convince Harrison that it'd be best for them to be married rather than bring the child into the world with parents that hadn't devoted their lives to each other and said their vows.   
  
Marlene walked down the isle sporting a beautiful wedding dress, something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and her pregnant stomach, she was seven months into her pregnancy. Safe to say, the honeymoon wasn't one that she had dreamed of as a teenager. But she found it cute when Harrison went into a laughing fit at her trying to squeeze into the deep red babydoll she would've 'wanted to wear' if it wasn't for 'the creature growing in her stomach'.  
  
Let's save the details of two years of barely decent parenting of the baby girl 'Sandra', she had her fathers lighter brown hair, but the rest of her features much more resembled her mother, from her eyes to her nose, shape of her face, and as she got into her older years; the way she spoke. But we're not at her older years, we're at age two. Just when Marlene is finally a pro at being a mother, no more accidentally forgetting nap times, thinking that it was impossible to keep Sandra preoccupied and entertained, finish laundry and cook dinner all at the same time, she could probably tell what type of 'cry' any baby was doing like it was some sort of secret language that mothers knew. Sandra was the light of her life, and so was Harrison. Harrison had managed to finish college, he landed a couple roles in commercials, one in an indie film, but there was nothing big. Harrison worked as a grocery store clerk, they did struggle, the cheapest was best. Affordability over quality. Marlene stayed as a housewife, they couldn't afford to have anyone watch their child while they both work, and Iris and Joseph were all too much busy with their after college 'oh shit I can't find a decent job' struggles themselves with two jobs each.  Her parents were also out of the question, she stopped contact with them after a big fight over her dropping out of college, she was being more than childish about it, especially when she decided to ignore their phone calls and general existence.  
  
It only got worse when Harrison lost his job.  
  
"Its no fuckin' use, is it ? I'm not gonna get a goddamn role, no goddamn job, I'm  _fucked._ " Marlene recalled Harrison saying every time she tried to comfort him, he stopped looking for jobs, instead he began to search the liquor cabinet. Harrison was the angriest drunk Marlene had ever met, everything set him off, and she soon had become very acquainted with his fist.  
It went like a textbook abusive relationship, he would get in trouble with the cops, beg to her that he'd change, maybe go to AA, then she would drop the charges, he would keep to his promise, he would be good for a few months, it was like heaven. Then Harrison would come home again with a pack of beer, and Marlene would go back to crying herself to sleep on the kitchen floor, hoping that Sandra wouldn't have to see her mother with another broken nose.  
  
god, she could never forget that first day.  
  
It was only a month after Harrison had begun going to AA when he quit again and left home to waste more money on another six pack of beer.Marlene would be lying if she said she didn't wish that he would crack a few open while he was driving and get into an accident, but she chose to keep her wishes to herself.  
Sandra was five at this point, it was peaceful-- since Harrison was gone--, the only thing filling the silence was some repetitive cartoon, Marlene didn't pay attention, she was only braiding her daughters hair to keep her mind and herself busy, it almost felt normal, she could let herself forget the previous nights and the dull throb on her sore cheekbone.  
Marlene was thrown out of her idle state when her husband busted through the door, he was sweating and completely disheveled,  his eyes were wild and his skin pale, his expression was one of panic. Sandra ran to her room out of reflex and fear of what her father was doing, or going to do. "Come on, Mars, pack yours and Sandras shit, we have to get out of here!" He shouted, the only thing Marlene felt was confusion. Had he upgraded from alcohol to drugs? LSD? Her confusion only worsened when he spoke again;  
  
_"I was at the grocery store and this fuckin'...homeless guy nearly bit off this one **fuckers arm!** "_


	2. The Rise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i kinda went off of my original idea for what was gonna do, but i sorta like this more. long one, this is !

Marlene thought that her husband had really gone off the deep end when he kept on ranting and raving about how they were fucked, going on some conspiracy theorist rant about how the government had released a supervirus to take control of overpopulation or some crazy shit like that.   
She didn't have a choice in protest as she packed her daughters clothes and a few photos, Harrison had already been in the master bedroom that she and he slept in -- usually only one these days, he either passed out drunk on the floor or she was hit too many times that night to fearlessly crawl in bed next to her angry and drunk husband -- and thrown arm fulls of clothes in a suitcase, by the time she had come out with a suitcase in one hand while one arm was holding Sandra on her hip, Harrison was taking cans of soup in his hands and taking them out to toss in the back of their outdated and beat up SUV, doing the same with bottled water.  
Marlene pretended not to be nervous when she saw the baseball bat he put in the backseat.  
  
By the time they had finally finished, it was beginning to get dark. Marlene took shotgun while Harrison got in the driver side,  their daughter was obviously terrified, Sandra was completely silent, but you could tell by her wide eyes and how tight she was holding the Winnie The Pooh plush in her arms.   
First stop was Harrisons friends' home, he had around three drinking buddies, Kenneth, a heavier set white  man in his fifties with a light stubble and tired brown eyes, he had been married and divorced twice with four children and two grandchildren that lived out of state. Kenneth decided to follow them in his old pickup truck to save and add room. Then there was Benjamin, he was closer to their age, about thirty, more or less, he  was pale and had short curly black hair and clear blue eyes, he smelled slightly of Marijuana, Marlene chose to ignore it when they picked him up. Benjamin had a girlfriend named Amy, she looked like the girl next door, and much younger than Ben, maybe nineteen; she was blonde with big blue eyes that reminded Marlene of a doe. Amy clung onto Ben the entire time, but she seemed nice. The two didn't own a car, so they joined Sandra in the backseat. Then finally out of her husbands friend group, there was Kyle. He was apparently an ex-military man, his skin was tanned, he had no hair, it was completely shaved. He looked to have a permanent scowl on his face, or maybe he was just always tired. He had green eyes that reminded Marlene of Spring for some reason. Kyle was the tallest and the most muscular out of the group. He lived by himself in an apartment, it was nice, he was now a construction worker, after his honorable discharge from the army, and now also a part-time alcoholic.  
Kyle also owned his own vehicle, it was a small black BMW, he followed the group in it for the same reason as Kenneth.  
Now, at this point, you'd think that all of them would be more confrontational to Harrison about how insane the story was, the homeless man could have just been on drugs, not this crazy illness that their friend had raved on about.   
But it was spreading.  
It was all over the news, people were being attacked, bitten, killed,  _eaten._ But if they died, they came back. The military and police were trying to get a handle on it, but between the infected and now some rowdy citizens beginning to riot and raid in many places, it was gonna be a rough 24 hours for everyone.  
  
Marlene managed to talk her husband into getting her friends, the only two she really had. Iris and Joseph. When the small group drove into the more bad side of town where the brother and sisters shoebox apartment was located, they saw the chaos. It had gone dark, but in the dim streetlights they saw the fight between -- for right now -- the living, some were trying to fight the police, trying to break into the small businesses in the areas, some of the raiders were fighting with the owners of said businesses. Sandra had buried her face into her plush animal at this point.  
Iris and Joseph were already headed out of their apartment with backpacks when they arrived. Iris and Joseph were both around the same age, Iris was about two years younger than Joseph at 26, and he 28. Both were of Egyptian descent, about half, their father was white. Joseph had darker skin than his sister, thick short dark brown hair that was shaved on both sides, he was the shortest male in the group, and fairly scrawny, but it was hard to tell because he always wore this stupid black hoodie. He had big brown eyes and his expression seemed to always be neutral, but now he looked to be panicking.    
His sister, Iris, was much paler than he, her hair was long and slightly lighter, it was always a mess. She was about the same height as Marlene, 5'5". She had big brown eyes, like her brother, and she was also panicking. But both looked relieved to see Marlene, Iris even hugged her.  
They didn't own a car, either. And there wasn't enough room in the SUV for them, so they rode in the back of Kyle's BMW.  
  
And so, the group was off.  
They traveled for about a week, the military was failing in their fight. Shops were raided, the infected were taking over and now easy to spot with their glassy, blank eyes, the low noises they would make, sounding like a mixture of a groan and a growl. They were quick to learn that these were no longer people, they were monsters, a threat. And the only way to take them out seemed to be by destroying the brain.  
Luckily enough, Kyle already owned a gun, so he was their top protector of sorts, but Harrison claimed to be leader, no arguing on that, according to him.  
  
Over the week they had discovered multiple weapons, Harrison was lucky enough to snatch up a machete, Iris took ownership of a steel bat, Joseph was good with a claw hammer, Kenneth was better with a gun, as was Kyle, and Amy -- apparently her dad taught her how to shoot when she was young, real into the second amendment or whatever --. Benjamin took the wooden bat that Harrison had grabbed in the very beginning of this. Marlene only had a knife.  
Harrison insisted that she let the big boys take care of things, but in the back of her mind, she knew that it was just his way of keeping control of her during the end of days, he knew that he could boss her around and she wouldn't argue, she never did anymore.  
 Sandra was fairing well for being a child of the apocalypse, she was used to shouting and violence at this point, she knew to be quiet and hide away, to listen to orders. The child had taken a liking to the group, but she thought Benjamin and Kenneth were weird. She said that Kenneth looked like a 'human oompa loompa' and Benjamin smelled weird, of course this was only to her mother, late at night. When they couldn't sleep.  
  
Months went by, then years. Some of it went by like a blur, they had traveled out of the town and into the forests, their cars eventually ran out of gas and they were left on foot and sleeping in camps instead of the safety of the vehicles.  
 Benjamin was the first to die. He was bit, but he got away from the biters. He later discovered it on his forearm, the group was very indecisive on what to do, but Ben took matters into his own hands, he let out a quiet sob, he raised the gun to his head, his watery eyes squeezed shut, causing a few tears to roll down his dirtied cheeks, he uttered only one word before he pulled the trigger;  _"I'm sorry."_  
  
They gained a few survivors to their group, lost a few, gain a couple, lose, gain, lose again. It was a never ending cycle. Two years in and they were used to the pain, Marlene was used to the nightmares her daughter would have, it tore her apart knowing that as her daughter grew, the only thing she would know was death and fighting to survive.  
The only original people left were now Joseph, Iris, Kyle, Harrison, Marlene, and Sandra. Kenneth was grabbed by some of the infected and presumably eaten alive, Harrison commented that it was a 'good thing,' because it slowed them down from getting the group. Amy left in the night with her things, they had no idea why she did so.  
  
But they had met some survivors that joined them, five. Dee, a young rough-looking woman with short black hair, Tristian, a boy in his teen with a  hard blue-eyed gaze and blonde hair, Catherine, a bubbly blue-eyed blonde, May, a Korean woman with medium-length hair, and Randall, an african-american teen with dark hair and a pretty dimpled smile, he ended up 'dating' Tristian, as much as you can date someone in the apocalypse, that is.  
  
Then it happened.  
  
They found this small Holiday Inn, it was perfect. It had a chainlink fence around the perimeter, it was in the forest along a road -- probably for people on long trips --, so the fence was presumably to keep animals out, Harrison thought it'd make for a good place to set up for good, a sanctuary of sorts. All they had to do was get a gate up, which would be proved to be difficult, but possible.   
  
But first they had to check the place out and clear it of any of the Eaters -- a name they agreed on, since all the infected wanna do is eat. -- that are in the rooms, or anywhere else.   
There were some cars in the parking lot, all vacant except for one, which had a walker in it. May went ahead and walked towards it while pulling a knife from her boot, the others fanned out, Tristian, Randall, Dee and Kyle went up to the rooms on the second level while Iris, Joseph, Marlene and Harrison checked out the ground level.  
  
Sandra usually stuck to the back, but this time the seven-year-old walked up to her father, she tugged at his sleeve to catch his attention, she most likely was going to say she needed to use the bathroom or she was hungry and ask for a cracker or two.  
Marlene never let Harrison strike Sandra, it was always her that took it, for her baby. She would protect her daughter with everything she had.  
This was the first time he slapped his daughter away.  
And that started Marlene shouting at Harrison, she exploded, their shouts and his smacks at Marlene and Sandra's sobs probably drowned out the sound of the door to the front desk area creaking open, having been already ajar. It happened so fast. Sandra's cries of fear turned to ones of pain when the dead man walking grabbed her from behind and sunk his rotted teeth into her small shoulder. The shouting stopped instantly.  
In the blink of an eye, Harrison shot both the Biter and his screaming daughter. Marlene barely had the chance to react, she was frozen in time, her eyes growing blurry with tears.  
"Fuck-- Look at what you made me do." Her husband spat, pushing past her and off to the other side of the hotel.  
  
Her daughters body was burned with the rest after they cleaned out the rest of the inn.  
  
Whilst they were working on putting a gate up, they used wood and cars to block up the entrance and keep the dead from invading their camp. It wasnt perfect, but it was best for now  
The relationship with Marlene and Harrison grew worse after their daughters death. Shouting, physical violence. The group got used to hearing them shouting, seeing Marlene covered in bruises. No one bothered to try to stand up to their leader, just to save their own skin.  
With this new safe haven, more people began to join the group, stumbling upon the inn. Marlene bother to remember their names or backstories. It didn't matter anymore.  
  
A few months in, they had rooms filled, plenty of supplies, most of which they had stolen from smaller groups and camps of survivors in the area, but that's beside the point, then the tents and grills-- which was hard as shit to find, mind you.-- and all that fun stuff set out in the parking lot. Things were looking up.  
  
Except for Marlene.  
The abuse continued, but Harrison wasnt just the one throwing out insults and slurs, she was too. Even if she didnt physically fight back, she made sure that she thought he was a  _good for nothing coward._  
  
Pure fury was building inside of Marlene. It was _his_ fault. _He_ killed their daughter. _He_ was the reason she was hurting. _He_ ruined her life. She was a ticking time bomb at this point. People saw it in her face. The way she was beginning to speak so sharply to them. That look she got in her eye when Harrison pushed her back or threatened to put her back in her place.  
  
I'm sure you can see it now, can't you?  
  
It was another shouting match right after dinner, Marlene made a comment about how Harrison was gonna be the end of these people, they were gonna die. Just like their daughter. It set him off again.  
There were still people up and about the parking lot, since it was just a little after eight at night, they could for sure still hear the two screaming at each other from their second story bedroom.  
It took Marlene to say "I'm gonna piss on your fucking grave when you're dead." for Harrison to punch her right across the cheek, knocking her to the ground.  
"Think again, bitch. You're wearing on my last ne--," Harrison was cut off by Marlene swiftly rolling from her side onto her back, and kicking her leg up, ramming the tip of her boot right between his legs.  
Marlene heard him shout in pain, he was taken aback by her fighting for the first time the entire time they had been going through this. She took her chance to lift herself to her feet. There it was. The anger. The satisfaction of seeing him in pain. Her breath hitched, and a slow smile grew onto her lips.   
  
This was her  _fucking dream_.  
  
Marlene took her chance again when he swung again, cussing at her loudly. She ducked out of the way and clenched her fists, drawing back and catching him square in the nose. He flinched, but didn't get as phased this time. He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her up against the nearest wall, then brought a second hand to her throat, he was choking her.  
Marlene was slapping and it wasnt working. She hissed between her teeth as her vision began to get blurry and her head light. She finally brought a hand up to his face and slammed one long nail against his eye. That made him shout and jump back.  
  
Once Marlene had caught her breath, she saw him gripping his eye where she had jabbed him, there was a thin trail of blood going down his cheek. She had never felt this way before.  
The violence.  
The pain.  
She loved it.  
  
Marlene took calm, steady steps toward Harrison, he was muttering under his breath, threats on her life, then the words "bitch", "fuck", and "slut" were somewhere in the mix.  
  
Marlene went straight past Harrison, she went to the nightstand, where he had that shiny machete. She exhaled slowly, she dragged her finger over the blade, she felt him grab her by the shoulder while she was distracted, she had never moved so fast in her life. She firmly grabbed the weapon by the handle, then spun, swinging it into his side, it never hit anything important, it was a flesh wound at most, if it wasnt for how bad it was bleeding.  
Harrison stumbled back with his hands where she had striked him. He was shocked and in pain.  
But God, no. This wasnt the end of it. He had to make up for almost eight years of this shit.  
  
Without a word, Marlene clenched her jaw and swung lower, she hit him right in the leg, then did it again, and again, and  _again_ , even when Harrison had fallen on the ground, on his back, the only sound in the room were screams and the sound of something sharp cutting through flesh, muscle, and bone. She and the carpet, completely covered in blood splatters.  
He was sputtering and coughing and hyperventilating, all the while, his bloodied wife moved to stand over him, her feet at either side of his chest, one tip of her boot pressed up against his bicep.  
  
Marlene flicked some of the blood from the blade of her machete, splattering it across the already dirty off-white door. She let out a slow exhale, her head tilted up toward the ceiling, eyes shutting for just a moment before she leaned over, she braced herself on the machete, pressing the tip into the ground directly next to his left ear, and the other hand gripped his face roughly.  
"God, Harrison. I bet you thought that I'd just cry on the ground tonight while you snoozed away on that piss mattress, didn't you?" Marlene paused to chuckle softly, his eyes were barely open, he looked like he was going to pass out, but he also looked terrified. Her heart was racing. "Don't let me lose you now, baby!" She snapped before she striked him across the face with her free hand, then grabbed him by the chin to make him look at her again.   
  
"Got your attention now? Good boy." Marlene purred softly, "How did you think you were gonna die? Old age? Biter? Or just get killed by some cunt?" She leaned in closer to his face, practically hissing out the final word. Harrison didn't reply, she saw his lips moving, but nothing came out.  
Marlene scoffed and leaned back and out of his face, he was probably gonna bleed to death soon. Leave him to bleed? ... Maybe not. She had something in mind, make him a little useful for once. "Yeah, Harrison..." She muttered, moving her machete from its original spot and dragging the tip from his cheek, to his abdomen before she finally spoke again, "Yeah, I'm that cunt."  
With that, she raised the weapon above her head and brought it down on his neck, she heard a strangled noise escape his lips, but he was dead within seconds. Marlene repeated the process over again, the decapitation was anything but a clean cut, she even accidentally caught his cheek at some point, but his head rolled off from his shoulders, and she grabbed his head by those pretty brunette locks of his.  
  
From the sounds of screams and violence, nobody in the group had any idea of what was gonna walk out from that second story room. They already had attention at the door, a blood soaked Marlene calmly stepped out from the room, chatter erupted. She saw some men, they were similar to Harrison, real pricks. She never liked them. They were reaching for their guns at their belts.  
Then she tossed her husband head off the railing of the balcony, people parted like the red sea, since she hadn't destroyed the brain, it had reanimated, growling and chomping at air.  
  
"You see that piece of shit? He was your old leader. Now he's fucking dead in my room. I'm your new leader. Shit is gonna change around here, I'm not gonna be dealing with any bullshit anymore. Not even  _one fucking  **ounce of it**_!" Marlene cleared her throat after practically screaming those last few words, she used her sleeve to wipe a bit of blood from her cheek, but only smeared it. "My word is fucking  _gospel_ from now on, and if someone..." she paused again  to take a look around at the people staring at her. Thank fuck they had no children in their group yet. "If someone thinks otherwise, and has a  _real big fucking problem_ with me, you might as well shoot yourself right now because if I even God-forbid  _suspect_ someone is trying to go against me, I'm going to strip you bareass naked and chain you to a tree and let the Biters get to you and make you wish you had pulled that trigger." She finished with a quick smile and gripped the railing of the balcony.   
"So, does anyone want to end it now or forever hold their peace?" Marlene questioned with a raised brow.  
  
 _A single gunshot rang out._


	3. The Saviors

Months pass surprisingly fast in the apocalypse, Marlene's rule went smoothly for the most part, she made it known that she really didn't put up with any bullshit, and she was gonna do what she wanted to from the very moment that Harrison's head went rolling.  
  
Marlene had decided to split up some men into separate and small camps in the immediate vicinity of the Inn, they were lookouts of sorts, everyone had a walkie talkie that linked to one she had with her, they were to immediately contact her if they noticed anything out of the ordinary.  
They Continued to steal from other groups of survivors, Marlene did find it to be much more easier and had a better turn out than scavenging around in gas stations and abandoned homes.   
She did join in on searching for more supplies, but due to her impatience and itchy trigger finger, there was a bit more bloodshed when she tagged along.  
  
They had only taken in two more people since the death of the former leader, a woman that was at least 8 months pregnant and her husband, they were both middle aged, the woman was African American and had long curly hair and pretty brown eyes, her husband was Korean and had short black hair and brown eyes that were just as pretty. Their names were Melanie and Connor. Marlene took a liking to the two, Connor was good at surviving and Melanie would be giving the group a new life, on top of being a lovely woman herself.  
  
Marlene had found herself getting 'close' to the women  _and_ men in her group, but primarily women. And by close, they were spending the night in her bedroom. Marlene was enjoying her freedom, and she was having one hell of a blast with it.  
  
Speaking of that, on a cool autumn morning, Marlene was resting in bed next to a beautiful young woman with the name of Whitney, she had crazy long ginger hair and freckles all over her pale skin, Marlene enjoyed lazily tracing the freckles on the other womans shoulders, she heard a high pitched giggle as Whitney stirred and awoke, Whitney rolled onto her back, most of her messy hair covered her face, but Marlene could vaguely see a big grin and tired green eyes.  
"Time to get up, Boss Lady?" Whitney had such a bubbly and playful voice, she leaned toward Marlene to give her a kiss, but was denied it, even after the night before. Marlene turned her head, dodging the womans lips. She clicked her tongue. "Tsk, tsk. Don't be getting attached, Sugarplum, its gonna get you hurt  _real_ bad." Marlene reminded matter-of-factly, Whitney pushed her hair from her face and pouted at Marlene like an absolute child.   
Marlene was about to humor the bubbly ginger, but just as she was gonna pull Whitney to her lap and play a little teasing game, the walkie talkie next to her bed went off.  
  
"Uh...Santiago? Jacob here, I can see a truck full of guys are pulling up to the Inn. What do you want us to do?"  
  
Marlene leaned over the side of the bed  and threw Whitney her shirt, practically hitting her in the face with it. "Put your clothes on. Go to your room. And fucking hurry." She barked, Whitney fumbled with her clothes and yanked them on while Marlene grabbed the walkie talkie. "Don't let them in. Have fuckin'... Have Iris talk to whoever walks up first. I'll be out soon." She spoke into the walkie talkie calmly.  
She turned her focus back to Whitney, and as soon as she saw that she was fully dressed, she opened the door to her bedroom and practically tossed her out. "Dont dilly-dally, I told you to hurry!" Marlene snapped before slamming the door shut.  
  
No, Marlene had never encountered groups as big as Jacob might have implied, it made her somewhat nervous, she didn't get nervous anymore. She had convinced herself of this, which made the feeling all the more panic inducing. She furiously grabbed for the pair of black short-shorts and lowcut and loose crimson blouse, only briefly pausing after she'd yank both clothing items on.  
Inhale.  
Exhale.  
 **Stay fucking calm.**  
  
By the time Marlene had yanked on her boots and stormed out without even tying them, Iris was arguing with a skinny white balding man with a grey toothbrush mustache.  
"No way in hell, old man! Take that offer and stick it up your crusty, tight a-,", "Iris. Down, girl." Marlene was quick to interrupt her friend as she made her way down the stairs, there was a truck parked in front of their makeshift gate -- only half of what was going to be the actual gate was finished --, there were few armed men around the prick arguing with Iris, what caught Marlene's eye was the fact that they were all clean.  
  
Rather than standing in front of the gate, all the men were peering at the group through the chainlink fence. Marlene sent them a tight lipped smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, she used one hand to wave Iris off, the brunette raised her middle finger before stomping off.  
"I'm Marlene Santiago, the leader of the group." She introduced herself, lifting her chin after stopping in front of the fence, she was slightly shorter, but she still had that look that she was looking down at them, one thought rang through her mind;  
' _I'm better than you, you son of a bitch._  '  
  
The man chuckled lightly, he was looking behind Marlene, at the set-up in the parking lot and all the people staring at the scene unfolding before them. "Hell of a business you got growing here." He commented, Marlene didn't reply, she kept her sharp gaze locked on him. He raised an eyebrow before speaking; "My name is --" He began, but Marlene swiftly intercepted his introduction, "I don't care. What the fuck do you want? I don't want any beating around the bush, I don't have all day to clean up the bullshit you're gonna spew. Get on with it." She practically hissed out the last few words, another chuckle came from the man. She was seething.  
  
"Half your shit."  
  
It was straight forward, just like she wanted, but it took her off guard for a moment, her look of surprise, soon bubbled into laughter, she laughed for a good 30 seconds, after it died off, she shook her head. "It's good to know that's there's comedians still left in this shithole. Give me a good fuckin' reason for that, Gringo." She replied with another smile that didn't reach her eyes. He didn't seem the least bit amused by it. "It belongs to Negan, now. You give us what we want and you'll get to live for another day. You work for us now." He explained as if it was the most simple thing in the world.  
Marlene's smile completely vanished, she bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted iron, she thought of the outcomes, these men seemed like they knew what they were doing, like they've done it millions of times before, her pride said to say no, but her instincts as a leader told her to say yes, those men could wipe them off the map for all she knew.  
  
"Who is Negan?" Marlene chose to buy time while she weighed the pros and cons of her decision. The man laughed, he was patronizing her, she could feel it, she could see it in his eyes, and hear it in his voice when he spoke.  
"I'm Negan." He was most certainly patronizing her, he made her feel like a stupid child, she wanted to choke him out and watch the light fade from his eyes, but that was left to dreams and fantasy. Instead of pouncing over the fence with outstretched hands, she chuckled humorlessly. "You don't look like no goddamn  _Negan_ , you look like a Billy-Bob or some shit." Marlene retorted. 'Negan' shrugged his shoulders. "We're all Negan. He's everywhere. He sees everything, and hears everything."  
  
They were fucking nutjobs. Wonderful.  
  
"Do we have a deal or not?" He sounded like he was getting impatient, Marlene couldn't risk these peoples lives, there was a woman there that could be giving birth in a month, she couldnt ruin all the shit she killed her asshole husband for. She breathed in and out deeply, this was a decision. A big one. It would change their lives more than she would want, she heard mixed reactions behind her, quiet 'do it's and 'dont do it's.  
  
Marlene made her decision.   
  
"Go on, open the gates and give them whatever the fuck they want. No arguing. We work with them." Marlene demanded, pointing to a few of her men with guns, more mixed reactions behind her. She knew that some would think that she was batshit insane for this, but they would understand. Eventually. 'Negan' grinned.  
"Good choice."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready for the totally actual negan in the next chapter, it'll be up soon!!


	4. The Man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've been doing a ton of time skipping these first few chapters, but this should be the last one for a while. There is gonna be a bit of a lack of Negan up until [redacted] happens, then theres gonna be a ton of the garbage boss himself, but I hope you guys still enjoy it!

The Saviors couldn't be trusted, they made it obvious that they weren't allies, they only held back because they got what they wanted, it was obvious that they were a much bigger and stronger group than Marlene, she was certain that her own group had somewhere over twenty members, but the Saviors.. It had to be double the number, judging by how it seemed that a new group of men came by every time. Marlene couldn't seem to find a pattern that could aid her if she got tired of serving these men hand and foot.   
  
It was springtime, now. Leaves had changed color, the snow was -- Thank God -- melted away by the returning warmth. Winter was always hard. Especially because the hotel rooms were occupied, people had to begin sharing and sleeping on floors to avoid frostbite from sleeping in tents out in the parking lot.  
But, as always, they managed to pull through.  
The gate was finished, fully functioning, and strong. Now they set their eyes on working on the broken generator and get power on, then try to get water running, they only bathed once every two weeks using a bucket of water from the river a few miles out, it was a difficult process, a warm shower would be a God-send and a big step forward.  
  
Melanie had her baby sometime in November, the birth was rough and it was difficult for both mother and child to pull through despite the fact they had a doctor -- a nice Nigerian man named Dr. Ifechi Ebun, he had never delivered a baby before, and he did the best he could --, but they made it. A healthy baby boy named Samuel was warmly welcomed into the group.  
  
Melanie's husband, Conner, had become a great asset to the group, he was a talented scavenger and often led groups to find supplies, and managed to handle tough situations very well, which was an advantage through December and into March. And it was a very big advantage when they had the Saviors breathing down their necks for more supplies every 1-2 weeks.  
  
Despite everything, Marlene was proud of her group and the growth they had managed even after the few dramatic events that had happened.  
And not only that, but she had power, she was in control. Every time Marlene realized that she had everyone wrapped around her finger, she felt her blood rush.  
Sometimes, Marlene feels like the end of days began the best of hers.  
  
It was around Midday, judging by the position of the sun, it was a warm enough day out for people to trade their sweaters and jackets in for tees and tanks. But the air was filled with  the anxiety of the members of the group, they stirred around while doing laundry, reading, chatting or making preparations for the dinner later that day.  
The Saviors were coming that day.  
  
Marlene found entertainment in taunting the men that came and went, nothing to warrant the death of someone in the group, just snarky comments to get a reaction, she was a sucker for attention and reactions, no matter what kind. Her fun in teasing the men were always one-sided, The Boys made their annoyance obvious with swear words and almost dull threats, it gave her a good little giggle.  
God knows that she needed one every once and a while, even if she was tap dancing on the line of danger.  
  
When the ever familiar trucks rolled up and halted in front of the gates, Marlene already felt a difference.  
From the balcony, she could see the men in the bed of the truck, their demeanor was...different, tense in a way. They always walked around like their shit didn't stink, but they looked more subdued this time.  
Marlene tore her gaze from the men in the truck and headed toward the stairs, while walking, the front gates were opened, and she heard truck doors opening, then slamming shut. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the sunlight hitting something shiny and silver.  
  
The men in the bed of the truck Marlene had recognized as some that had come by a few weeks earlier, she also recognized the skinny white man with the Dr. Phil mustache that had first introduced the group to her, she had later overheard from other men that they called themselves The Saviors, that they had to gain points in order to get things back home.  
  
Fucking nutjobs.  
  
But there was one man that stood out, and not just because he was wearing a huge leather jacket in fucking _spring._  
It wasn't even the wooden bat that had been wrapped in barbed wire like some sort of grotesque Christmas present -- It did catch Marlene's eye, though, it was one hell of a weapon, or looked like one, she felt sorry for the poor son of a bitch that had ever ended up looking face-to-face with that thing.  
  
God, the way that man carried himself.  
Remember how she thought that the Saviors walked around like their shit don't stink? Big Guy over here walked around like he shit gold bars.  
  
It didn't take long for it to click, the big puzzle that Marlene was trying to put together,  _who the hell **really** is their leader?_  
She was looking straight at him.  
That was Negan. The real Negan. There was no if, and, or but about it.  
That's why the men were acting so different, Negan reeked authority and confidence, not to mention the way he twirled around that bat, he was like the big bad wolf that was gonna trick you, then gobble you all up.  
  
Thing is, that drew Marlene in. It was more than what she had originally anticipated, but it certainly did not disappoint.  
  
Marlene snapped back to earth and continued down the stairs, chin high in the air as she approached Negan,  she was a woman of average height and by no means short, but she also by no means met his gaze eye-to-eye, he was a tall man, it made her feel like a mouse trying to seem intimidating to a pitbull, but despite his height and aura alone putting a small scratch in her ego, Marlene's stone cold gaze didn't crack.  
  
"I've been wondering when I'd see you." Marlene commented to catch Negan's attention, he turned to face her, and she quickly spoke again, her voice coated with dramatic sarcasm;  
"The man,  _the legend, **the leader, Negan**_." There was the ghost of a smile on Marlene's lips, she rested a her left hand on her waist, while one rested on her thigh, where the holster to her machete was attached.  
  
Marlene studied his features for a moment, his slicked hair, his black and grey beard, those bright brown eyes, the fire that blazed behind them, he shifted his weight to his other foot and his lips parted to let out a quiet, breathy chuckle.  
"And who the fuck might you be?" He questioned, his voice just as sharp as his gaze, her jaw tightened for just a moment, she couldn't dare break contact and take a nervous look to the ground. Fuck that.  
  
Instead, Marlene smiled. That fake and forced one that made her cheeks feel like they were being pulled by string, it was dreadfully obvious, especially with that 'if looks could kill, you'd be bleeding at my feet' look lingering in her own eyes. "Marlene Santiago. The leader of this group. That's who the fuck I am." She sounded deceivingly polite, it was even worse than the stiff plastic smile she had plastered across her face.  
Negan's head tilted back as he let out a louder chuckle, almost a full laugh, he swung the bat from his shoulder and pointed it toward Marlene in a casual way, for a good second, it startled her and caused her to step back and take a more defensive stance, whatever he had planned to originally say, was cut off by an actual laugh, but it sounded  _wrong._  
Not like a normal light laugh, it was dark, almost. Was she being spoon fed her own medicine? Perhaps.  
  
"Oh, did Lucille -- " Did he just refer to his fucking bat as 'Lucille'? " -- scare you? Don't worry. She's feeling nice today. So am I. Today is a real fuckin' good day!" Negan cheered the words out with a big wolfish grin, he twirled the bat -- Lucille, whatever-in-the-fuck, -- in his hand once, he held that thing in his hand like it was a part of him. Marlene forced back a cringe.  
  
Again, fucking nutjobs.  
  
Marlene chose not to respond, she just stared at Negan with that same look, her smile had completely vanished and her lips were presses into a straight line. Negan shifted again as silence took over, he rested Lucille back onto his shoulder. "Huh." He muttered under his breath, running his tongue over his bottom lip.  
"Lets be friends, Marlene. Come on. You sure as hell have to know you're not getting rid of us any time soon. Lighten up a little. You don't wanna be getting on our shit-list with a shit attitude,  _trust me_." Negan spoke again, and she responded this time with a laugh, " _Friends?_ Are you fucking _kidding_ me?" Marlene sneered, and he didn't look the least bit like he was kidding. "You've got something going for you, that shit isn't hard to see, but if you wanna keep the train on rolling, you're gonna have to make friendly." He  was completely serious, but she was being childish, and just scoffed, her head was too thick and her ego too big for her to put her big girl pants on.  
"I'm not gonna force you to do shit, but one day you're gonna need the help and you're not gonna fuckin' get it. Take my advice or  leave it, your choice, sweetheart."  Negan added before he turned from her to the truck being loaded with boxes of supplies and shit.  
  
Marlene stared at the razor wire on Lucille while she thought.   
 _He's a fucking nutjob.  
But he's right.  
No way in hell will I let him know he's right._  
  
"Fine, let's braid each others hair and make friendship bracelets out of daisies and all join hands and sing fucking  _Kumbaya_ if that will keep you happy." Marlene finally spoke up, she heard another chuckle, and she was close to clocking the man when he turned with a huge shit-eating grin. "That settles it, then." He said.  
Marlene glared at him with only one thought in her mind;  
  
 _Fuck you, Negan._


	5. The Plans

Marlene took a few steps away from the gate while the men left their camp, her feelings about them had become even more absent than before. Negan intimidated her, yes. But he was just a man in a pretty leather jacket that prided himself on his dick and his precious trophy wife of a bat.   
  
Negan paused in front of the driver seat to his truck, Lucille was propped up on his shoulder, he grinned at Marlene, his smile didn't reach his eyes, but she could see a twinkle in them, it was almost malicious. Of course she was cooperating to the best of her abilities, or the best her new-found pride would allow her. "I have a feeling this is the beginning to one hell of a friendship! Don't you think?" There was a long silence after Negan spoke.   
He expected her to respond, didn't he?  
Marlene forced an unnaturally tight smile before nodding; "Of course. We couldn't have it any other way, could we, Boss?" She held herself back the entire time she spoke, she tried not to spit the words out. She would get used to it eventually. Used to Negan. Used to that 'charm' he had.   
  
"Damn right, you are, Marlene." Negan then got into the driver seat and slammed the door shut, but he leaned out the open window to say a few more words -- much to Marlene's dismay; "See you next week, be sure to get us somethin' _reeeal_ fuckin' nice." The truck then started, and the Saviors were off.  
  
Marlene scoffed, once they had driven out of earshot, she spun on her heel and stomped up the steps, toward her bedroom, to have a fit after holding herself from wringing Negans neck. "I'll get them something real fucking nice. Maybe I'll make a fucking  _bomb,_ and shove it so far up their ass it goes off halfway up their goddamn  _throat!_ "   
The entire inn practically rattled when she slammed her bedroom door shut.  
  
Marlene had grown a temper since taking over, she kept herself in line when it was necessary, of course. But sometimes, she either went outside to blow off steam on walkers, or have a ~~temper tantrum in her room~~  shouting match with the wall on the bedroom until she felt better.   
Marlene was not going to be abusive to her people for the little things that did tick her off, she didn't want to become the man she beheaded that night. Some did fear that it would happen to her, but she would worse, just snap one day and shoot a man for looking at her wrong.  
  
A few hours later, after Marlene had finally calmed herself, she was almost ashamed for letting Negan getting so deep under her skin, she couldn't let him set her off again. Despite telling herself to brush him off next week, it was a 50/50 on whether or not she would.   
  
Marlene cleared her throat, she stared into her reflection in the dirty and cracked bathroom mirror. She had dark circles under her eyes and a bitter look on her face that seemed to be frozen on there for the rest of her days. Her hair was long and greasy from the lack of being washed, she barely recognized herself as that girl with a promising future, it was only a mere three years...more or less. So much had changed.   
She had inherited most of her mothers features, sharp jaw, thin nose, high cheekbones, but she had her fathers eyes. She recalled how much her aunts and uncles would comment how much her eyes resembled her fathers.  
  
But those people were long gone by now.  
Even if they were alive, Marlene didn't know where they were. It didn't even really matter anymore, either.  
  
By now, the sky was turning reds and oranges, the sun was getting low, it looked like fire in the horizon. Marlene found it metaphorical in a sense, if she felt like looking beyond the trees and getting deep. The world was on fire. The dead were walking, people were dying left and right, and some were just fucking losing it in the apocalypse. You could call it hell.  
  
Marlene finally dragged herself from her room, and as if on cue, Kyle popped up.  
Kyle had grown out his hair and even had a beard now, if they still celebrated Christmas, she would force him to wear a Santa hat. Maybe she could if they got to that point.   
  
"The generator should be working soon, and we got some people already trying to work with the pipes." Kyle informed Marlene, who nodded and gestured for him too follow her down to the parking lot, which he did. "That's something good. Any bad shit I should be worried about?" Marlene responded, his gaze dropped a bit.  
"We're running low on medical supplies, especially after The Saviors this time." Kyle explained. Marlene drew in a sharp breath, let's count back from 50 then say a few prayers to calm ourselves down, shall we?  
  
There was a solution, of course. But The Saviors were getting so much on her nerves, Marlene was about to go on a rampage big enough she could chop down 60 trees without growing tired,  _just_ from hearing their name.  
Figuratively, of course.   
"Conner and a few others are going out to scout for some supplies, aren't they? Make sure to ask Dr. Ebun to add a fuckload of meds to the list of shit they gave to get." Said Marlene, Kyle nodded quickly, "This isn't just what I wanted to talk to you about.. I wanted to show you some stuff I have been working on." Kyle chirped, he always had the same bitter look he had when Marlene first met him, but just now, pride and a glint of excitement flashed over his features.   
  
Kyle led Marlene over to the table the group always ate dinner at, it was more like 5 tables put together, they found a ton of them and chairs at a Birthday Party Gone Wrong, they were found to be very useful. They were toward the back of the parking lot, so they were out of the way.  
Kyle had already placed the blueprints on the table, they were rough drawings of the inn and the fence surrounding, but behind the inn, he had drawn a space, he had 'GARDEN' written in big letters, then various other small buildings, there were about two that were for storage, one for an armory, and about four labeled as cabins.  
"It can and will take years to fully construct all these, but we have plenty of wood to make fences and sheds and cabins -- we can even convert a cabin into a Doctors office. We've been here this long, we can expand this further than an inn and some small outpost camps." Kyle was the only real experienced construction worker, so obviously he was in charge of all the work like this. And he certainly didn't make Marlene regret that decision.  
  
" _You,_ Kyle, are a goddamn genius." Marlene commented, she reached up to give him a big pat on the back, he gave a half smile and began rolling up the plans. "I want you to start building as soon as you can, preferably after you guys get the power and water running. As soon as you finish that, actually. You'd have my gratitude." Marlene added, he nodded quickly and hurried off, most likely to put the plans away and to tell Dr. Ebun to make his list.  
  
Marlene walked towards the gates of the Inn, a walker was in front of them, lazily scratching at the screen. It didn't bother anyone, unless it had the power of a small car, it wasn't getting inside.  
  
Marlene turned and surveyed everyone working, some were going in and out of the supply room to gather things for dinner, Melanie was off with her baby in her arms, rocking him back and forth. Conner was with a few other men, preparing to make their run in a couple days. She already had a group that should be returning in the morning, but with the Saviors, they needed a lot.  
  
The scene was normal.  
This was their normal, now. Whether they liked it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as a quick note; im totally open for critiques & suggestions. im a bit nervous about this (it being my first fic and all), so itd be appreciated.


	6. The Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> short filler chapter? short filler chapter.

One day after Negans visit, Marlene was awaiting the return of her men, it was early in the morning when Marlene woke up, nightmares were a norm, which isn't surprising, her nightmares were a mixed bag, the infected, her daughter, her ex-husband, even the saviors sometimes, or all of the above. She would always wake in a cold sweat, but the memory of her fears would soon vanish, she had more important things to deal with.  
  
Her bed was empty, but she had pulled her pillow over to her while she was in her sleep, just hugging it. It was something she found herself doing when she slept by herself, maybe it was a psychological of  thing. Not that she cared at this point.  
  
It was just after breakfast when the van rolled up, it was a dark blue with a bunch of dents and scrapes, it was theirs. Once the gate had opened, a few men came out, bags half-full with supplies, they took it to Whitney, who was in charge of keeping check of all the supplies, out of the corner of her eye, Marlene noticed Whitney waving toward her, but she ignored the greeting.  
Two familiar women, Catherine and May, came out with someone unfamiliar. A child. No older than thirteen. The child was covered in blood, and at first, Marlene thought it was a boy, but as they got closer, she noticed that it was exactly not that.  
The girls hair had been choppily cut to the point her hair was completely shaved, she had brown eyes and she was unhealthily skinny. She looked terrified.  
  
"She ran in front of the van on our way back. She was alone. We checked the entire area. We weren't followed. It was hard to get her to talk, but she says her name is Samantha. Her mom was bit and she had to put her down. That's where the blood came from." May explained, Marlene eyed the girl suspiciously. "Don't tell me you didn't check for bites. Please tell me that you wouldn't do something as  _stupid_ as that." She spoke calmly, Catherine put her hands up in defense. "No worries, boss! Checked 'er all over! She's fine! Just scrapes and bruises." She responded, she tried to sound cheerful, but her voice was still shaky.  
Marlene then smiled, and gave Catherine a quick pat. "And that's why you're one of my best. Now go get Sam here cleaned up, get her something to eat. Wherever I'm at, take her to me. I'd like to speak to her." Marlene ordered, she looked back down to Samantha, she was nervously looking between all of them, she certainly had been through hell.   
  
Catherine nodded once, she took Samantha off, muttering to the girl about how they must have something clean that would fit her. Marlene turned her gaze to May, "What did you find? Something good, I hope?" She questioned, it didn't look like the backpacks they brought back were very full, which wasnt promising. At all.  
"Some cans of soup, canned fruit, not a whole lot, though. And one knife. Which is the girls'." May was referring to Samantha, but that wasn't what Marlene cared about, she was scowling about the small amount of food they had. "God-fucking-dammit." Marlene hissed under her breath, that meant that Connor and his group would be out longer than Marlene would have wanted.   
  
Marlene took in a sharp breath, she waved May off, May didn't waste time in walking off to the van, to help unload. Marlene shut her eyes. Happy place. Its only the morning. She had the day ahead of her. Possibilities, right? Right.  
  
Ugh.  
  
_Fuck this._


	7. Interview.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im kinda eh about this one, but...next chapter will be sooner && better. promise!

Marlene was sat across from the girl, she had just eaten and gotten cleaned up, it was now easier to fully see Samantha's features, her sunken cheeks, her acne-ridden skin, eyes that looked too tired to belong to a 12-year-old. She ought to have round cheeks, bright eyes and a big smile rather than a deep-set frown. It was strange what the apocalypse did to someone.  
  
"Your name is Samantha, right?" Marlene decided to start small, it felt strange having to interview a child, she did the same with all the people that wanted to be in the group -- she wasnt sure if this girl exactly wanted to be here, but she really didn't have much of a choice.   
Samantha just nodded in response, she wasn't looking directly at Marlene, she had had her eyes glued to the dirty white table in front of them.  
"How old are you?" Did she even know? God. Marlene felt a tinge of sadness and guilt. Genuine. It probably showed all over her face, it was strange how a mere child could break her usual cold stare.  
  
"Almost...eleven...I think." Samantha spoke slowly, she had a heavy english accent. Close to what Marlene had assumed. Samantha had begun to pull at the loose strings on the yellow tee she had been given, but it fit like a dress, going past her tiny legs. God, she looked starved.  
"Do you have any siblings?" And Samantha shook her head, she didnt talk a whole lot, did she? It was already feeling repetitive with these mediocre questions, Marlene took in a deep breath,  
  
"Do you know where your dad is? You said your mother changed, but... was anyone else with you?" Marlene felt another tinge of guilt. Samantha looked like a kicked puppy after that question. Maybe that question was a bit rushed.   
  
Marlene might have acted like a total bitch from time to time, but she always had a soft spot for children, she almost didn't make Melanie and Connor go through an 'interview' just because of her pregnancy, she almost felt as much anxiety as Melanie when Connor went out on runs, she didn't want a child to grow up in such a world without a father. It was tough as it is.  
  
"Dad is dead too... No one else was with us. I promise." Samantha answered hesitantly, like she was afraid of saying the wrong thing. Marlene reached forward to rest a comforting hand on her arm, to try to say it was okay, but the girl flinched away very quickly. "Can I go now?" Samantha asked, finally looking up to meet Marlene's face, who nodded slowly, and stood from her seat. "Let me show you to the tent you'll be sleeping in. All our rooms are filled in. I hope you don't mind."   
Samantha reluctantly nodded, she trailed behind Marlene, she was led to a small red tent, it was one of the few empty ones, it had a few pillows and a sleeping bag inside. The only thing Samantha didn't hesitate doing was climbing into the tent and hugging a pillow.  
  
Marlene found herself lingering, even after turning her back, she hadn't been around children that girls age since her daughter... Would Sandra be around the same age? God, she couldn't remember. She had lost track of time. Maybe that's why she kept feeling like she should just scoop Sam up and hug her and tell her it was all gonna be okay. Because she kept feeling like a mother. She couldn't do this.  
Marlene spun around to face the tent again, she knelt down to the height Samantha was at, "We have some books, just ask Whitney to show some of them to you, okay? We might have grabbed something you'd like." She suggested, Samantha just nodded again, leaving Marlene to wonder if she actually would open up to them eventually. She was traumatized, after all. She did kill her own mother, didn't she?  
  
There were a lot of thoughts in Marlene's head as she walked off, where even was her own mother? Marlene had lost contact with her parents a long time ago, she knew that they probably lived nearby, the old house, at least. It was probably long vacant now, Marlene wouldn't waste her time going there, especially if she found their bodies in the house. Ignorance was bliss.  
  
Marlene had been absently sitting in a lawn chair and staring off at the gate when she felt a tap at her shoulder, it was Iris, one of the two friends from college that she knew to be alive, the other being Iris' brother, Joseph. "Yo, Connors headin' out in a few, he wanted to get out ASAP after seeing the low supply drop, you wanna add anything else special to the grocery list?" Iris always wore this pair of heart-shaped glasses, only during the day, of course, but it was probably the cutest thing that anyone in the damn group owned. Next to Marlene's prized 'KISS' shirt, of course. "No. Tell him to be careful, alright? " Marlene responded with a tight smile, Iris just nodded, then she headed off.  
  
Not too long after, Connor and a few others packed up onto the van, Melanie gave him a quick kiss on the lips before he got in the driver seat, then they were off.  
It felt so normal, but goddamn did it set off a domino of events to play out over that hellish week.


	8. Shootout

The hours passed by silently, Marlene found herself reading the same book over again. The Virgin Suicides. It was a tragic story. Maybe she was distracting herself from the current tragedy with another. Or maybe it was just something to waste her time with.  
  
Samantha didn't leave the tent barely at all, Marlene caught her roaming out once, then went back in a few minutes later with some books in her arms, they looked like History books, perhaps. They had a wide range of books, even some torn Vogue magazines were kept in a box. The magazines were used mainly for fires, they quickly learned that nobody was interested in the old fashion trends.  
  
It was around four or five in the afternoon when a hushed voice came on the walkie talkie, it was easily recognized as Connor. "We're by the railroad tracks. Looks like Saviors and other people we don't recognize having a standoff. I don't know who one of the Saviors is... he's blonde and his face is all fucked.. Has this guy on his knees. They're surrounding these two people. Don't think they know we're here right now. Over."  
Marlene instantly sat up straight in her seat, everyone else in the group were too preoccupied to notice. She grabbed the walkie and made her way up to her room. "Stay back.  Don't make any moves that could alert  _anyone._ Don't move a fucking muscle. Over." She hissed her words out. She knew that the Saviors weren't gonna pull anything whilst at the camp, but she wasn't sure about outside, especially in a situation like Connor described.  
  
"Oh. Shit. Guy on his knees just bit that blonde guys dick. No joke. Holy shit." Connor whispered, you could hear a twinge of pain in his voice from just watching, he  inhaled sharply before continuing, "They're shooting at each other. Should we help? Over." And there was that question. Fuck. Marlene had to think fast, she didn't have much time to weigh pros and cons, she just had to go out on a whim.  
"Help them. Let them know you're help. Maybe they'll go easy on us next week. Maybe... we'll  even owe them one. Over." Then it was silence. Marlene felt tense. She anxiously paced in her bedroom, she was being dramatic about it, wasn't she?  
  
Dinner eventually rolled around eventually, Marlene  had spent that time in her room, she even tried the walkie a few times. No one replied. Kyle came to knock on her door, she sucked it up and answered, she didn't even say a word to him, she pushed past and shut the door. "So, for dinner --," He began, but Marlene didn't waste time in interrupting, "Some kind of stew with canned vegetables and old rice? Smells like it. We've had it plenty of fucking times. I should be able to recognize it by now." She didn't mean to sound as bitter as she did, but it hit her like a brick wall when she noticed Melanie breast feeding the baby, it was just from the corner of Marlene's eye, but it caught a hold onto her temper.  
"You good? You sound..." Kyle just trailed off, he didn't want to use the wrong word, but she caught the hint. "Tt...I think it just might be the dinners getting repetitive for me. I'll get over it." She replied, Kyle just nodded before he walked off to get his meal.  
  
Samantha was already off with a bowl, downing the contents, Melanie was distracted with her baby, then everyone else were just quietly talking to each other, some at the tables, some just sitting on lawn chairs. Marlene sat at the far end of a table after getting her food, she wasn't in the mood for talking, unless she had to.  
"Um. Marlene?"  
And she had to.  
  
Marlene looked up to see Melanie, cradling Samuel in her arms. "Connor hasnt tried to talk to you yet, has he? He told me he would when they stopped scavenging for the night." She questioned, Marlene fell silent for almost too long, but she managed a smile. "No. Not yet. I'll tell you when he does." She lied straight through her teeth. Melanie nodded and walked off. She seemed disappointed. Rightfully so.  
  
He would have contacted her by now.  
Especially after that encounter with the Saviors.  
  
When Marlene went to bed that night, she made up her mind about something. She knew where those tracks were. She had to go check. Her paranoia was bothering her too much.  
It was a restless night, but Marlene managed to get  _some_ shut-eye. She woke up on and off through the night. When she saw the faintest bit of sunlight through the curtains, she hopped up, she just threw on whatever tank-top, jeans, and boots her hands landed on. She grabbed her machete, then gun, then she was out.  
  
Marlene whistled to catch Whitney's attention, who was just unlocking the door to the supply room. "Tell everyone I went for a walk. And tell Iris and Joseph that they're in charge until I come back." She ordered, she didn't wait for a response, she had begun to unlock the gate.  
It was silent, but before Marlene could slip out, Whitney spoke up, "Where are you going?" Marlene took a brief glance back when she heard the question.   
"Out." It was brief and vague, and she was gone before another word could be spoken.


	9. The Railroad

  The morning sun shined down on the train tracks, it had taken Marlene at least an hour to reach the location, she only had a few blood splatters on her from a few roaming walkers she ran into along the way, she walked on the tracks in silence, but soon slowed to a stop when she saw a womans body laying a few feet away, there was an arrow through her eye.  
  
There was blood all over, it glistened under the light, most had dried and turned an ugly rust color. Marlene scanned the area for anything else; the next thing that caught her eye were bullet casings, this had to be the spot, it was were the shootout had happened. She wandered away from the immediate area and into the forest next to it, her grip on her machete tightened when she heard the groan of a biter nearby.  
Soon, the back of various of the reanimated creatures came into view, Marlene whistled to catch their attention, they spun around slowly, stumbling on their own feet like they were drunk. God knows that she knew what that looked like. She recognized one as a savior, she didn't know the other two, then... "Fuck." Marlene muttered under her breath. Connor Like the Savior, despite the already rotted flesh and bullet wounds, she recognized him.  
  
Marlene backed up slowly, then she swung her machete, she caught one of the undead in the side of the head with the blade of her machete, her head went through with a million different thoughts, did the Saviors do this? Did Negan know? Who were these people they got in a fight with?  
Marlene caught the dead Savior in the dead center of his face, her machete got stuck briefly, she kicked the corpse off and into the one behind him, it couldn't get the body off for now, so she left it.  
That left her and Connor. Marlene backed up further. How was she going to break this to his wife? -- Shit. Where were her other men? What a Goddamn mess.   
  
With her mind off track, Marlene's foot got caught on a rock and she slipped backwards, landing right on her ass, her machete fell from her hand and onto the forest floor. Connor took a dive after her, his face landed right on her stomach, she grabbed a hold of his hair and yanked his head back before the fatal bite could be given. His hands gripped and grabbed at her while she struggled with the gun at the back of her jeans.  
Connor was gradually makiny his way further up her body, no matter how much Marlene tried to hold him back. She furiously cussed under her breath, as he was practically in her face at this point. She placed her hand at the side of his head to keep him held back.  
Then her thumb squished into his fucking eye. All she felt was wet and sticky and mushy.  
"Oh. Fucking. Gross." Marlene hissed in disgust, her face wrinkling into a cringe.  
  
Marlene grunted loudly and decided to use her free hand to yank his hair back like she was doing before, while that was happening, she forced her thumb further into Connors eye socket.  
When life gives you lemons...  
With a loudly grotesque squelch, Marlene's thumb slid in as far as possible, and Connor slumped over.  
...You make some nasty ass lemonade.  
  
Marlene shoved the body off of her, her finger was covered in dark blood, and some bits of what she could only assume to be brain tissue. She wiped it on the side of her pants, then she turned her attention to the situation at hand. First. Machete. It only took a few minutes of feeling around the floor of the forest until her hand hit the cool metal. Second. The other biter. Marlene twirled the machete in her hand a few times to ease her nerves, she hummed the tune to ' _Sweet Dreams_ '.  
Marlene  stuck the tip of the blade into the biters mouth, she slowly spun the blade so the sharp end would be pressed to the roof of its mouth, she jerked the blade forward, driving it through its skull, practically cutting its head in half.  
  
And finally.  
Marlene went back to Connors  body, she knelt down beside him, a grim expression displayed across her face as she slowly pulled his wedding ring from his finger and pocketing it.  
  
The way back felt longer than it took to get there, it felt like she was traveling for days, her head spun in circles with the same questions. But there was one that was reoccurring,  _who were those people?_  
 The arrival at the gates would feel more somber if it wasnt for the one truck -- rather than the food trucks that were usually there when they came for their things -- in front of the motel, she recognized Negan's jacket and Lucille in his hand. And she definitely recognized Iris shouting at him.  
" _Well, she isn't here, so I'm not letting you in, you sick fuck! Come back another time! Have a terrible fucking day._ " Typical Iris. Marlene caught Negan's laughter and what sounded like, " _Then we'll wait._ "  
  
Marlene contemplated her next actions, one hand felt the gun at the back of her jeans, there weren't that many men and if she could ambush them while they were distracted, she could maybe kill them all, including Negan.  
But that was a big maybe, and she needed him for now, she needed to know what happened. She could use him to her advantage. For now.  
  
"Negan. You're not supposed to be here." Marlene spoke up, her hands were on her hips and her nose was stuck in the air, she wasn't gonna be nice today. Fuck that. _Yeah. **Fuck that.**_  
"Just the person I was looking for! Mind telling your friend here to open up? I  _really_ don't like repeating myself." Negan replied, turning to face her with that toothy grin, but it didn't quite  reach his eyes, even at that, they twinkled with a little something extra.  
  
"You seem happy to see me." Marlene commented sarcastically, she held up her hand and gestured for  Iris to open the gate, she seemed less than happy to do so, but she couldn't exactly say no. "Why wouldn't I? I caught word that you were kind enough to --," Negan began, but Marlene quickly intercepted his words. "Try to help in that bullshit shitfest down the road? Yeah. I recall giving those orders. And I'm real fucking glad you know. Because I  _really_ need to have a chat with you about it."   
There was a long silence after that, the only thing breaking it was the gate opening all the way, and without a word, Marlene walked inside, she heard footsteps behind her. The silence continued on, even everyone in the group had shut down, it made the sound of their boots against the dirt sound loud.   
  
Marlene spun on her heel to meet Negan's gaze again, it was like a stand off. Who was gonna make the first move? Marlene decided it was going to be her. She cleared her throat, then tossed her weapons on a nearby table. "Follow me. We have to speak. _In private._ " Marlene made sure to make it sound like an order rather than a question,   
Negan decided to have the audacity to laugh, throwing his head back once while doing so. Marlene must have looked even more pissed at this reaction, because he looked even more amused when he looked back at her. "Oh, boy! I am really starting to fuckin' like this! Is this how you usually are? Goddamn. I hope so. Because its  _kind of_ _turning me on_." Negan cheered out, a few people shifted in discomfort, Marlene had become a brickwall.   
  
"Then I hope I'm in your wildest fucking dreams. Now,  _Follow._ " Marlene turned and walked toward the side of the motel, she heard a low chuckle and an 'Alright then'. Negan followed suit. Marlene felt somewhat accomplished, she ordered him around,  he listened for the most part, and it felt pretty satisfying, considering how intimidating he was.  
Marlene stopped when they reached the back of the motel. She turned to Negan with a hand on her hip, her head cocked to the side. "Who the fuck were those people?" She questioned. Negan rested his shoulder on the wall beside them, he lazily swung Lucille back and forth in the other hand, he was briefly silent, looking Marlene up and down.  
  
"Why the hell did you try to help?" Negan dodged Marlene's  question with another. She scoffed. She knew it wasn't going to be easy to get this out of him, it was gonna be like pulling teeth. "I asked first, fuckwit. Answer me." She snapped, he whistled sharply, like he was... what? Impressed? It didn't sound like much of a warning, maybe.   
Negan pushed off of the wall and stood a couple arms length from Marlene, but that space was filled quickly when he pointed Lucille right in her face, her lips were practically brushing against the end of the bat. "Answer my question and I'll answer yours. It's only fucking  fair." He retorted. Marlene almost blurted out an annoyed 'fuck you', but she held herself back.  
  
"What? I can't be nice? Can't I get a good ' _thank you, Marlene. Thank you for trying to help me out of the kindness of your heart. Thank you for sacrificing your men to try to save mine. Thank you for doing something nice instead of letting the good 'ol boys die out there like **fucking dogs**_ '!" Marlene practically shouted, her shoulders shook with anger, her brows furrowed as her face twisted along with her emotions. "I mean, you wanted to be friends, didn't you, Negan?" Marlene walked around the bat to get closer to him, he slowly lowered Lucille as she did so, she had caught his attention, he was now looking at her with interest. "I thought I'd help a friend out, maybe we could get on common ground with each other, some bullshit like that. Sound fair e-fucking-nough to you?" Her tone was sharp enough to cut glass, she was almost up in his face, and if looks could kill, he'd be on the ground.  
  
"Fair e-fucking-nough." Negan agreed simply. "Quick, though..." Here we go again. "...Any of your boys make it out?" Marlene was taken aback by the question, her jaw tightened at the thought, she just sent them out to make a poor choice and get killed. Negan read her expression and sighed heavily. "Damn. That's shitty." He muttered. "One'a mine made it back. Rest... Done for." He added truthfully, she noticed that he seemed actually disappointed and sad about it. "But. Shit fuckin' happens like this all the time. It'll get taken care of. Be-fucking-lieve me."  
Marlene raised both eyebrows at that. "Are you taking care of it?" Now Negan had caught her full attention and curiosity -- curiosity killed the cat, but  who cares? --. It looked  like he was debating his answer and how to go about it, soon, he finally responded. "Fuck yeah we are. We're gonna catch those fuckers off guard ASAP, and we're gonna teach them a goddamn lesson about  _killing our men_. And get a little somethin' somethin' out of it, too." Was he trying to hint to her that if she tried anything the same would happen to her  & her group? Most likely. Marlene caught the subtle threat, or maybe she was being paranoid.  
  
"Funny. I was thinking of doing the same exact damn thing when you told me about them." Marlene took some steps away and pressed her back to the chainlink fence behind her, she crossed her arms, she had the twinkle of an idea in her eye, it only took Negan a second to catch on. "No fuckin' way." He answered before she could even ask. "Oh, come the fuck  _on,_ we work for you, don't we? Doesn't it give you an advantage, anyway? I'm gonna let you  _borrow_ my best men and my guns." She attempted to persuade him, but no deal. "Not a chance in hell, Sweetheart." He rejected.  
"Its a win-win, for both of us. I'm pissed about them killing my men, so are you. I help you, you help me. We both get what we want. What's so damn bad, huh?" Marlene pressed on, she was too stubborn to let this one go, she had eased up a bit, there was even the smallest of smirks tugging at the corner of her lips. "You know I can't fuckin' trust you with shit like this." Negan pointed out. "Oh,  _please._ You had your backs on me when I had a gun earlier, it would have been so much easier to use you to paint my gates red than trying to go to war during... Whatever the fuck you're gonna be up to." She fired back, her lips curling up even further, "Shit.  I'm not stupid enough to even  _attempt_ to cross you. You have more numbers and weapons. Its too big of a risk." It was truthful, but it was also playing with his massive ego  Compensating for something, maybe?  
  
Negan was balancing the pros and cons in his head, Marlene wished she could read his mind, but then again, she could pass on that one. "Fuck it. Fine." He finally said, her growing smile turned into an all-out grin. "I hope you know that I plan on tagging along." She added, he grunted in response. "You really don't fucking give up, dont you? That's just fucking amazing and show-stopping. But don't push it any further."  
  
Marlene came closer, she rested a hand on Negan's  arm with an appreciative look -- it was fake for the most part, she was glad more than anything else, she could use him to her advantage now, it made it slightly more bearable to be around him.  _Slightly_. "Thank you,  _Gorgeous_. You have my full gratitude." She purred her words rather than hissing them, she took her chance to toy with Negan in  a little of a different way, he did have a cute  ~~but fake~~  smile, after all. "Anytime." Speaking of that smile, he shot her one quickly.  
  
Marlene backed off and to her original spot by the fence, she took a glance off to the side, she was staring at nothing in particular. The short silence was oddly comfortable, Marlene could think of what was coming next, they were going after a possibly big group, it couldn't just be those two people Connor mentioned on the radio. That reminded her.. "You never told me who they were." She pointed out the very obvious, Negan looked like he was off in his thoughts, too -- strangely enough? --, but she brought him back to earth. He sighed heavily.  
"Better start at the fucking beginning, then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two chapters in the same week? wooooah!  
> its super long, too! i'm still very anxious about how i portray negan, but hopefully i'm doing fairly okay. (hopefully).


	10. Them

Marlene stared at the map laid out in front of her, Negan was circling out a game plan for where he wanted her people, it was like he was a football coach. "We need someone to watch near here, we've noticed that their trucks always pass by this road. Get some people to camp out there and keep their eye out, and tell you, then you tell us if anyone has been spotted." Negan paused, looking to the woman next to him.  
"And we'll fuckin' know if you're keeping any little fucking secrets." He warned, Marlene had no reason to keep from him that she saw anyone. Betraying the Saviors was one of the last things she ever wanted to do.  
"Then we're gonna block the pricks from  
any road they plan on going down," Negan pointed to a few roads in the area he circled, then he moved his finger to the side of another road, tapping on it as he spoke. "We're leading 'em there.  Then you'll watch and see what happens next. I'd fucking  _hate_  to ruin the surprise." Negan finished, he grinned proudly, his plan was well put together.  
Marlene nodded slowly, "Right. Sounds like a plan." She muttered, he wasnt paying attention, though. He snapped his fingers at one of the Saviors, he muttered something that sounded like, "Gimme the fucking walkie." A few moments later, he was tossing a walkie talkie into her hands. "Contact us through this if your people see anything." He ordered her.  
  
Marlene clipped it into her back pocket, she leaned her elbow on the table, she opened her mouth to speak, but Negan had already started. "Dont make me regret trusting you, because there  _will_ be consequences, and you will not like them, not even fucking slightly." He was warning her, she held back a scoff.   
"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head. I'm not stupid enough to pull that shit. You're not gonna regret it. I can promise you." Marlene crossed her heart sarcastically, Negan's lips stretched into a smug grin, a low chuckle slipping through them. "You really think I'm pretty?" He was just fucking with her. But it didn't amuse Marlene in the slightest, she rolled her eyes in response.  
"Don't you have shit to do? Somewhere else? Away from me?" She tilted her head sarcastically and gave him a tight-lipped smile. "You do? Oh. Gee. I'd hate to keep you here. Toodles." She spoke up again before he could, Negan raised his eyebrows, the tip of his tongue ran over his bottom lip.  
Negan placed his hand on his chest, where his heart was, and began to back towards the gate, Lucille was in the opposite hand and resting on his shoulder as always. "Don't go fucking breakin' my heart, baby." He taunted, he grinned when she cringed at the pet name. He removed his hand from his chest and used it to wave at her. "See you soon."  
  
With that, he and the few Saviors with him left, the gate was shut by Kyle, who nodded at Marlene as she approached him and the gate, she stared between the bars, she didn't even know what the fuck she had gotten her and her people into, but she would have to start briefing them tomorrow. She chewed on her bottom lip, it was going to turn in her favor in the end. Of course it would. Why wouldn't it? Shit. Maybe she could get on Negan's good side -- if he had one, that is.  
  
"Do you think we can trust them?" Kyle's voice threw Marlene out of her thoughts, he must have figured that someone was up, everyone probably was, since they had made a scene earlier. Marlene shrugged in response, she didn't answer for a while, these people couldn't be completely trustworthy, just as her group was to them, but they had to have some sort of mutual stance now. She sighed heavily, muttering her thoughts to the man standing next to her,  
"I sure as hell hope so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ho-ho-holy shit! merry christmas to everyone! i apologize for the lack of updates recently! i'll get back in the groove soon.  
> also: uhhh...filler chapter? (i suck)


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